WITH the six states having concluded their elections recently, the heat now shifts to Johor where the by-elections for the Pulai parliamentary seat and the Simpang Jeram state seat, will be held.

The nomination for both these by-elections is tomorrow,  with the process, from 9am to 10am, to be held at  Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim in Johor Baru for the Pulai by-election and Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim, Muar, for the Simpang Jeram by-election.

According to the Johor Election Office,  22 sets of nomination forms have been sold so far to several political parties, including Amanah, PAS and Perikatan Nasional (PN), as well as independent candidates.

The by-elections in the two constituencies are expected to witness stiff competition with Pakatan Harapan (PH) pitting two protégés of the late Salahuddin Ayub, who was the incumbents of the two seats,  against the Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidates.

PH has named former Johor state assembly speaker, Suhaizan Kaiat, who is also the late Salahuddin’s political secretary, as its candidate for the Pulai parliamentary seat.

Suhaizan, who will be contesting on Amanah’s ticket, is expected to face Pulai Bersatu deputy chief  Zulkifli Jaafa.

For Simpang Jeram, PH is betting on Bakri Amanah deputy chief, Nazri Abdul Rahman,  who is an engineer,  to defend the seat against PN candidate Dr Mohd Mazri Yahya, who is a vascular consultant and endovascular surgeon.

Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur Consumer Safety Association president Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi has expressed his intention to file his nomination as an Independent candidate for the Pulai parliamentary seat.

The by-elections were called following Salahuddin’s death last July 23. He was the elected representative for both seats. 

Salahuddin, who was Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, was also Amanah deputy president.

In the Johor state elections in March last year, PH won 13 seats, while Barisan Nasional (BN) dominated the Johor state assembly with 40 seats, and PN had three seats.

In the general election held last November, PH won 15 parliamentary seats with Amanah winning two of them, BN (nine) and PN (two). – Bernama, August 25, 2023.